One-Dollar FreezeI started this whole booking with a small problem in my head. I wanted a car in Paris but I did not want to pay the full amount right away. My card balance was not very high and I was waiting for another payment to come in. That night I was in my room in Paris scrolling on my phone and I saw this One-Dollar Freeze on QEEQ.
I called my friend and said I did not feel safe paying everything now. I told him my card would be under pressure. He said I should just try the one dollar first and see how it goes. So I did that. I paid only 1 dollar for the booking fee and the page showed that my booking was confirmed. In that moment I felt my chest relax. It was like the car was already saved for me but my card did not get hit by a big number.
The next days I just lived normal. I bought food and metro tickets and I did not keep counting every euro left on my card for the car. Sometimes at night I thought what if I forget to pay the rest. I was scared that one day a huge bill would surprise me. Then I saw that the rest of the money would be charged automatically before the rental started. I only got a message from my bank when it happened. The amount was exactly what I saw before. No extra fee. I was standing in a metro station reading the message and I told my classmate next to me that I was so glad there was no random charge.
Around June twentieth I was already in Paris ready to go to the Europcar desk for the Peugeot 208. When I walked into the office I suddenly remembered the moment when I paid only that one dollar. I felt that this plan was really smart for someone like me. If I had paid everything at once, my credit card pressure would be too high. Now it was like I used a tiny amount first to lock the car and then the rest came out right before the start with no interest. My bank statement stayed very clear.
The staff at the counter typed on the computer and I waited by the desk. I was thinking again about that one dollar start. It felt a bit like getting a concert ticket with just a small deposit first and paying the rest only when it is close. When I finally held the car key in my hand I had one simple thought. This way of first paying one dollar and then letting the system take the rest before pickup makes life easier for young people like me and the pressure on my card feels much lighter.
Price Drop ProtectorWhy are you smiling like that my friend asked in our group chat I just typed I kind of made some free money I was talking about the Price Drop Protector I used when I booked my car on QEEQ
I planned this solo trip to Paris I would arrive around August 18 around noon and I wanted to pick up a car in the city around the 20th It was a Nissan Qashqai or same group with automatic I wanted something simple so I could drive around the area My budget was tight When I was about to pay I still thought maybe the price will drop later Maybe I should wait In the end I just booked because I saw this service and I felt if the price went down I would not lose money
A few days later I saw a new email The title looked like some random ad I almost ignored it When I opened it I saw it was from them telling me my booking price had changed At first I thought the price went up and I felt a little nervous I kept reading and then I saw they found a cheaper price for the same car and same time They had already booked it again for me and they would give me the price difference back
In that moment I was a bit shocked I did nothing I did not change the booking I did not talk to customer service They already locked the new lower price for me It felt like I suddenly got extra money for the same plan I could use it for one more nice meal in Paris or buy some small gifts
For someone traveling alone like me this feels pretty special At first I just thought it was a small extra protection and maybe it would not help Later I saw it is like someone is watching the price for you You are sleeping and you still save money This feeling of picking up money from the ground without any work is actually very nice
Price Drop ProtectorHow did I save money without doing anything at all? That was the most surprising part of my booking with QEEQ. I had already booked a car with them in Nice France. I planned to pick it up around the night of July twentieth and return it在八月初. My plan was all set.
One day I was checking my email and I saw a message. It said that because I used Price Drop Protector my booking was made again at a lower price and I got the price difference back. I was a bit confused. I did not change the booking and I did not check prices. I thought I read it wrong.
I read the email again and then I remembered that I chose this service when I first booked. Now the price went down and they rebooked the same type of car for me and saved me more than two hundred DKK. It felt like I did nothing and still got extra money to spend on food or small things in Nice.
For a student like me this feels really nice. My budget for car rental was tight and now it is easier. I just went to Nice airport at the normal time to pick up the car. At the counter they only looked at the new confirmation and everything was normal. My trip did not change and the car type did not change. The only thing that changed was the lower price and I just got a surprise email saying I saved money.
AXA Full Coverage"What was the biggest thing that happened in your car rental trip" my friend asked me later. My first answer was very simple. I said I was really glad I bought AXA Full Coverage.
I went to Lyon alone. I booked the car through QEEQ and picked it up at a city branch around the end of May. I went there around late morning and got a small Fiat 500 from Europcar. It was a manual two door car. It looked cute and I thought it would be easy to park and not too expensive.
The problem came close to the return time. I kept thinking about the next day when I needed to give the car back but something still went wrong. When the car got towed away I was totally shocked. The first question in my head was how much I would need to pay. The second question came right after. I asked myself if my insurance would cover this or not.
The whole situation at that time was a bit messy. Later I saw that the rental side charged me 387 euro for car damage and about 126 euro for fuel. When I saw the bill I just froze. I kept asking myself if I had to pay all of this by myself and if the insurance I bought was useful at all.
When I went back to my place and calmed down I started to check my emails and my booking paper. I saw the words AXA Full Coverage and I felt a bit better inside. I asked myself what I could do now. The answer was to contact the platform and explain everything and then find all the proof I could.
When I talked to customer service I was nervous because a tow problem sounded very serious to me. I explained what happened and we checked the amounts line by line. I had many questions in my mind. I kept thinking if the fuel fee was covered and if the damage fee was covered and if I needed more photos.
They told me the damage part was inside the cover but the fuel fee was not really included. They said they could still try to send it but no promise. Then I started to go through everything like a Q and A. Do you need this bill. Is this photo clear. Is this the right amount. I checked every detail and uploaded what I had.
There was one damage photo that I took when I first saw something was wrong with the car. I did it just in case. I did not think it would be so helpful later. In that moment I was happy that I took it. I even talked to myself in my head and said good job for keeping that photo.
After that the only thing I could do was wait for the result but I kept doing small math in my mind. My main goal was to get the 387 euro damage fee back. For a solo trip with a student style budget that was really a lot of money. I also hoped to get the fuel part back but I already prepared for the fact that this part might not work.
When they told me that the 387 euro damage fee could be paid back I asked again to make sure. I asked if it was really in euro and if the number was correct. Once I knew it was right I felt a big stone drop from my heart. I said to myself that the most important part was saved and that buying this insurance was not a waste.
The fuel fee was not covered in the end and I was okay with that because they already explained it before. I counted again and saw that I did not have to carry almost four hundred euro on my own. My mood was much lighter after that.
When I look back at the whole story I feel that this AXA Full Coverage is what helped me the most as a solo traveler. When the accident happened I did not need to argue about every euro with the rental counter. I just needed to explain the facts and give my files and then let them talk with the insurance side. My job was to answer questions and send things one by one.
Now when someone asks me if they should buy this kind of extra cover my brain has its own Q and A.
Is it expensive. Compared to the 387 euro it saved me it is really not that much.
Is it trouble. When something bad happens having this cover makes the trouble much smaller for me.
For me this experience in Lyon was scary at one point but the ending was still okay because of that extra cover I chose at the start.
AXA Full CoverageWhat can you do when you get a big damage fee on a rental car in another country? This really happened to me in Paris. I booked my car on QEEQ. I went to pick it up around the afternoon of May 5 in the city. It was a Peugeot 208 with automatic gear. The car was small and easy to drive and the whole trip felt okay. On the return day, around the afternoon of May 13, I brought the car back on time. I also filled up the fuel. The Europcar counter staff walked around the car, looked very quick, and did not say anything. I thought everything was fine and it was over. A few days later I checked my bank and saw a pretty big extra charge. I just froze for a second. What is this fee? I felt nervous and also a bit angry. I was thinking maybe they charged me for something that I did not know about. I contacted the rental company and they said it was related to damage, but they explained it in a very unclear way. I honestly could not remember any clear damage moment and nobody told me anything when I returned the car. Then I remembered that when I booked the car I added AXA Full Coverage. I started to think. Will this insurance really help me or is it just something useless that I paid for? I decided to try. I collected what I could find from my side. I had the charge slip from the rental company, my rental contract and some email screenshots. Then I reached out to their customer service and said I was charged a damage fee and I wanted to make a claim. After that the whole thing became a bit heavy for me. There were many numbers and bank details. They asked me for my account number and also IBAN and Swift code. At first I did not really understand these things. Sometimes they needed more correct information and I had to check my bank paper or the bank website. It felt like doing homework. I was a bit annoyed in my mind. But the fee was not small and I did not want to just give up. So I kept going step by step and tried to answer everything as clear as I could. During this time they also checked with the rental company. Later they told me that the rental company did charge me for real damage and they showed a clear damage amount. When I heard that I felt speechless but also a bit calm because at least it was not some random fee with no proof. After that I needed to confirm the claim amount and also confirm my bank info again. I made some mistakes with the details and they asked me to correct them. I went back and checked all the digits slowly and made sure my account number IBAN and Swift code matched. The process was not easy but I could feel they were helping me move the case forward. At last they told me that AXA Full Coverage had approved my claim and the final payout was set. It was basically the part that I paid for the damage. They also said the money would be sent to my bank account. When I finally saw the payment arrive in my account I felt a big relief. I had this feeling that buying this insurance was not a waste. When I think about it now if I did not have AXA Full Coverage I would probably just have to pay the whole damage on my own. It is really hard to fight with a rental company in another country and it is not easy to make things clear. This time the process took some effort but at least the damage fee came back to me in the end and that part was really important for me.
AXA Full Coverage"There is a small dent on the bonnet." When the staff at the Europcar counter in Geneva said that on my return morning, I just froze. I had booked the car through QEEQ and drove a BMW 1 Series automatic. I thought dropping off the car would be very smooth. Then he pushed a paper to me and the bill showed 569.31 euros. My heart just sank.
My first thought was that I was really glad I bought AXA Full Coverage. Without it, this amount of money would be a big pressure for me as a young person who just started working. After I left the counter that day, I went back and kept thinking about what happened. I sorted all the papers from the rental desk and kept every photo and bill. When I drove on the mountain road earlier, a small stone flew up from another car and hit the bonnet. It left a small dent. It looked not so serious at that time, but it still became a damage cost.
Then things got a bit messy. The rental company sent me some emails. They went into my junk folder, so I found them very late. When I finally saw them, the total amount was already over six hundred euros. I stared at that number and felt nervous. I did not really understand why it was higher than the first 569.31 euros. I was also worried that the insurance side would get confused by this.
I started to explain the situation to them. I found the first bill from Europcar that clearly showed 569.31 euros. I also checked the later emails where the amount increased. I noticed the extra part was actually interest and collection fees, not the original car damage. I wrote this very clearly and told them what the real damage cost was. Then I checked my UK bank details again. I made sure my name, IBAN and everything were correct because I did not want any mistake to slow down the payment.
During this time, I sometimes looked at the email chain and still felt worried. I was scared that I did not explain something well or that one document was wrong. Every time they sent me more questions, I opened the bill and read it line by line. I kept pointing out that 569.31 euros was the damage itself and that the rest was just interest and late fees. My English is only at a high school level so my sentences were simple, but I tried to be direct so they could understand me easily.
After some time they told me that the claim would be paid based on 569.31 euros. When I saw that email, I finally let out a long breath. Later the money arrived in my bank account and I checked the number again and again. It matched the first bill from the rental desk. At that moment I really felt lucky that I had AXA Full Coverage. A tiny stone and a small dent turned into a big bill, but this insurance covered it. For someone my age, having the damage paid back like this and seeing the claim end in a clear and fair way means a lot to me.
